Aaron Brothers

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fframerr

True Grumbler
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
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55
Loc
Prescott AZ
I have seen this company repeatedly offering employment over in N.California, we do not have an Aaron Bros. in our state. Anyone know their reputation as an employer/company?
 
I worked for them at one time and they were okay to work for. It was 8 years ago though, things could be different. They are owned by Michael's.
 
If you are looking for framing employment in Nor Cal, there are 100's of better options than Aaron Bros. Yes, they do advertise job openings on a regular basis. That alone should tell you something. I don't have any direct experience with them, but from what other framers I know have said, I would not consider them. If you are an inexperienced framer, then maybe you could do well there, but a seasoned framer is not likely to.
 
I agree with Wavy... we don't really like to mention AR or M's here.

If you're looking for work, make some friends with Grumblers here in your target area, maybe there's a job waiting for ya ;)
 
Over the years I have hired a few framers who used to work at AB. Most were delightful people who were now eager to learn more and were happy that our training program was more comprehensive. AB teaches some basics, but a lot of the work is not done in thier shops.
I currently have one ex-AB framer who has worked for me for several years.

We maintain good relations with our neighborhood AB and they refer people to us for services they can't provide. We refer to them for thier choice of ready made frames if we can't fill the need.
 
When I was first getting started in the framing business - armed with an extensive art education and background AND a one-year framing internship (which admittedly was pretty worthless) I set about to find a "real" framing job. Aaron Bros. was one of the places I looked. I was so disappointed to discover that they wanted only high school kids, and were only willing to pay minimum wage.
The good part of the story was I eventually found a shop that also paid very little, but really gave me a good opportunity for an apprenticeship.
:kaffeetrinker_2:
 
The Wavy Framer said:
If you are looking for framing employment in Nor Cal, there are 100's of better options than Aaron Bros. Yes, they do advertise job openings on a regular basis. That alone should tell you something. I don't have any direct experience with them, but from what other framers I know have said, I would not consider them. If you are an inexperienced framer, then maybe you could do well there, but a seasoned framer is not likely to.
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Interesting comment. I had 14 years of experience when I went to Aaron Brothers and I did just fine. The stores out here were brand new back then and much different than what you have in California. The store I worked at was brand new and did it's first million in the first 6 months it was open. Plenty of high end framing going on there too. I was always kinda forced to work for Michael's and Aaron Brothers because their pay scale was worlds ahead of any independents around here. It was very hard work with their high volume and all but pushing that kind of volume provided me with many more skills than when i came in.

Those stores are only as good as who is working for them at the time. Probably not nice to suggest only inexperienced framers could work there. There are plenty of people on this forum that work in the BB's.
 
I worked for Aaron Brothers for eleven years, I quit and started my own shop back in 1976. I worked for the company when it was owned and operated by Len and Al Aaron. I started before they were a big box operation, I left as a regional manager in their new at that time, big box business.

For myself, joining up with that company was one of the smartest things I have ever done. Len Aaron himself took me under his wing and became my life long mentor. We still talk regularly on the phone and try to meet up at least once or twice a year.

He helped me out tremendously when I started my own business, not by lending me money, but by selling me enough equipment to get a start, then giving me reasonable monthly payments on it.

The most valuable thing he gave me was his life long friendship and guidance.

Is Aaron Brothers a good place to work? For me, the answer would be yes.

John
 
fframerr said:
I have seen this company repeatedly offering employment over in N.California, we do not have an Aaron Bros. in our state. Anyone know their reputation as an employer/company?
Click to expand...

When I worked for them years ago, they did have a location in Phoenix, it was co-owned and operated by a fellow named Ray La Pierre. When I was officially named regional manager, it included Ray's store, which kind of surprised me. Then Len called me up and told me that was just for promotional purposes, and to leave Phoenix and Ray alone.

John
 
Emibub said:
Interesting comment. I had 14 years of experience when I went to Aaron Brothers and I did just fine. The stores out here were brand new back then and much different than what you have in California. The store I worked at was brand new and did it's first million in the first 6 months it was open. Plenty of high end framing going on there too. I was always kinda forced to work for Michael's and Aaron Brothers because their pay scale was worlds ahead of any independents around here. It was very hard work with their high volume and all but pushing that kind of volume provided me with many more skills than when i came in.

Those stores are only as good as who is working for them at the time. Probably not nice to suggest only inexperienced framers could work there. There are plenty of people on this forum that work in the BB's.
Click to expand...

Undoubtedly, the stores are very different, as you suggested. It may be true that at one time AB was a fine frame shop with quality employees and quality workmanship. However, from my dealings with former AB employees (whom I interviewed for employment in the shops I managed) and former customers, I believe it is hardly the case now in the SF Bay area.

When I said seasoned framers may not do well there, I think it was a fair comment. Although there certainly may be experienced framers working happily at AB, I have a hard time believing a seasoned framer who is quality conscious and desires to follow professional framing standards could be content working for AB. Also, their pay scale falls far below what the independent shops pay, for the most part. On the positive side, they do offer health insurance, which is far more than most independents can do.
 
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